Thanks again to Akvbfc for another article about the world of football
Beckham: Magician or Mercenary?
For years, he has saved his nation and given hope that anything is possible…Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you…David Beckham. Or should that be Brand Beckham?
Well, whatever you want to call him, Becks is now officially the most capped outfield player in English football history.
There has been much debate over whether Beckham really deserves this accolade, but why?
It is obvious that he is deserving of those 108 caps, otherwise he would not have been chosen by 8 different international managers. Each one saw that there was something special inside little David from Peckham.
What would have happened if Becks had not been an England player? Well in 1998 in France, we would have been relying on Darren Anderton, while in 2000 we would have looked towards Nick Barmby to be our creator. In 2002 we would have prayed that Trevor Sinclair or Kieron Dyer to take us all the way while 2006 would have brought a greater reliance on the likes of Aaron Lennon. Now, I know that you would have picked Becks ahead of all of these players as the man to run the line and create the chances.
He is a real legend, and there is not a greater role model in this country right now. For years he has juggled his dual life as footballer and celebrity with excellence and grace, while never forgetting where he has come from. His performance against Greece in 2001 will go down as one of the greatest individual performances in history. He single handedly propelled England to the 2002 World Cup, and when all hope seemed lost, he stood up and took control like no-one else could.
His career is one that has brought many unforgettable moments – the Argentina game at Fifa ’98, redemption in 2002, the Greece game, his 100th and 108th caps.
Eventually the bright shining light that is DB will fade, but his legacy will live on. David Beckham: Magician.
He’s offside…Wait, no he’s not…Wait yes he is!
The offside decisions awarded during the FA Cup game between Derby and Man United highlighted how ridiculous the offside rule is.
First, the linesman did not flag Cristiano Ronaldo offside until the referee told him that Ryan Giggs had touched the ball before it went towards the Portugese winger. However, I ask you, if the linesman did not see the touch by Giggs, how did he know that Ronaldo was offside at that exact moment when Giggs made contact with the ball? Guess work? I think so.
If you could forgive the official for that one mistake, then the second mistake was undeniably unforgivable. With Man United 1-0 up, Derby were desperate to make sure that United did not register another goal before half time, but the officials did not help. As Darron Gibson struck a decent enough half volley towards the goal, Rafael jumped over the ball as it moved towards the goal. Now, I’m no expert, but if someone jumps over the ball, while they are clearly in the eyeline of the keeper, then I think they are offside. But then again, maybe it’s just me.
The current offside system is a joke. I would love to ask a FA official what was wrong with the old rule which made them change it to this one. There is a long standing joke about women understanding the offside rule, but nowadays I doubt that the majority of men understand the offside rule. This rule is a joke and it just highlights the incompetence of those who rule our game.
From Russia with…money?
It has emerged that while Roman Abramovich has seen his wealth reduced by $9bn as a result of the credit crunch, another Russian has been flashing his cash. Alisher Usmanov has upped his stake in Arsenal FC to over 25%, taking him to within 5% of the minimum 30% stake needed for them to launch a formal takeover of the club.
However, Usmanov is surrounded by allegations that he has been involved in fraud, corruption and theft of state among other things.
So is Usmanov the right owner for Arsenal? The fans don’t think so.
But will anyone care what the fans think? Thought not.
Is Rafa actually helping?
I am in no doubt that much of Liverpool’s early season success is down to the managerial prowess of Rafa Benitez, but is he actually helping the team?
It was his dispute with Robbie Keane which has left Liverpool with no decent back up for Fernando Torres, and it was Benitez who is responsible for much of the negative press surrounding the club at the moment.
It was Benitez, and Benitez alone who launched such a stinging attack on Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson, and he brought all of the media speculation that followed onto himself.
It was also Benitez who made his feelings about the contract offer known to the general public, putting pressure on the owners. Sure, this has helped Benitez to get his way, and sure, many of the public agree that he was correct in his demands, but why go through the press? Why aid suggestions that there is still in-fighting going on inside Liverpool FC?
After all that, you would assume that Benitez would like to keep a low profile for a while…but no. Benitez decided that this would be the perfect moment to share his aspirations that one day he would like to manage Real Madrid. Yeah, that’s great mate, but why the heck are you saying it now? Why say this, at a crucial time in Liverpool’s season?
Maybe it’s time that the Liverpool press officer had a word or two with good old Rafa.
By akvbcfc
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